China warns of heavy rain as tropical storm Noul nears southern coast

BEIJING: Chinese authorities on Friday warned of intense rain and heightened flood risks as tropical storm Noul moved closer to the country’s southern coastline and was expected to strengthen over the weekend.

By Friday morning, the storm was located northeast of Manila in the Philippines and was moving west-northwest at about 25 to 30 kilometres per hour. Hong Kong’s observatory said Noul was expected to come within 800 kilometres of the city by Friday evening and announced it would issue the No. 1 typhoon warning signal at 8:40pm local time. The observatory also said it would review whether stronger warnings would be needed as the system approached.

Weather officials said winds along the southern coast were likely to build gradually, while squally showers were expected to become stronger through Saturday. Mainland forecasters said Noul was likely to come ashore between Zhuhai in Guangdong province and Zhangpu in Fujian province sometime between Saturday night and early Sunday before weakening after moving inland.

Meteorologists said some parts of eastern Guangdong and southern Fujian could receive cumulative rainfall of 500 to 600 millimetres. The two provinces are already among the wettest in China, each receiving around 2,000 millimetres of rainfall annually.

Flood season pressure

The approaching storm comes after severe rain affected large areas of China. In Chongqing municipality in the southwest, rescue workers were continuing efforts to locate more than 50 people missing after a deadly landslide.

China is currently in its peak flood-control period, known as Qixia Bashang, which runs from mid-July to mid-August. Weather specialists have warned that extreme rainfall is likely to become more frequent and more severe in the weeks ahead, with much of northern China expected to receive 20pc to 50pc more rain than normal.

Transport and coastal closures

Authorities in Guangdong said railway services would begin to be suspended on Saturday, with all regular and high-speed trains expected to halt on Sunday. In Zhuhai, west of Hong Kong, local authorities said ferry operations would be suspended on both Saturday and Sunday. A local government notice also said all coastal scenic sites in the city would be shut to visitors during that period.

The name Noul was submitted by North Korea and refers in Korean to the glow seen at sunrise or sunset.